Desert & forest parks

PAPAGO PARK - MOUNTAIN BIKES AND PAVED PATHS

by Scott Bourque

PHOENIX -- Papago Park occupies almost 1500 acres along the borders between Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Tempe. Home to the Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix Zoo, and miles of paved and unpaved bike trails, it sees thousands of visitors during its peak fall and winter seasons. The park’s mountain bike paths attract many local mountain bikers like Jory Henry, who repairs bicycles at Landis Cyclery in Tempe. Henry has been riding his mountain bikes in Papago Park for more than 15 years. He and many other mountain bikers associate the park with their hobby. “Papago Park is mountain biking,” he said.In 2010, the City of Phoenix proposed amaster plan for the park, which included a stipulation about not paving any new trails - with the exception of allowing for ADA accommodation. Paved trails were to run around the perimeter of the park, while interior trails were to be earthen.

Papago Park's new 5K trail drew the ire of some mountain bikers when it was paved over the past year. However, they've adapted, and now the park is accessible to everybody. Our reporter Scott Bourque went out to talk to some cyclists and park users to see where we should draw the line on accessibility.

One exception appeared to be the new 5K trail, which was completed in the last several months and surrounds Papago Golf Course and runs south of the southern Butte. Gregg Bach, a spokesman for Phoenix Parks and Recreation, says the trail was renovated with the ADA in mind. Although the trail isn’t officially designated and approved by the ADA, it opens parts of the park up to people that otherwise wouldn’t have access, he said. It has drawn criticism from some mountain bikers. Costing more than $300,000, the trail took a well-used mountain bike path, widened it, and paved it with a crushed granite gravel surface. This allowed the park’s scenic views to be accessible to all.​ At first, Henry, and many other mountain bikers, weren’t fans. It was a shared-use trail, he said. Combining mountain bikers with slower hikers, people with baby strollers, and dog walkers was dangerous. “When they paved it, I felt like it made it way more dangerous because it increased the speed of the mountain bikes and it brought a lot more people to the trails that are going at a slower pace,” he said. But the cyclists adapted, and started to cut newer mountain bike trails through the park. “It made that part of the trail not very good for mountain biking, but maybe from local efforts or a DIY thing, there are tons of new trails there that are all really fun and super safe,” he said. By giving people access to paved trails, Henry believes it makes the park safer for everyone. “It kind of in a good way separated people there for mountain biking and people who are there as pedestrians,” he said. Henry is wary of expanding the accessible pathways too far, though. He said he believes that if everything is paved, then the park loses what makes it special. “I think it should be something that everyone can enjoy and have fun with,” he said. “There’s certain parts of the world that you can’t get to without a mountain bike, and that’s the beauty of mountain biking.” “All of us mountain bikers have the most respect for [other park users], we want to make it safe for everybody,” said Henry. ​